Multitool manufacturers are innovating hard these days. Gerber's latest entry to the fray is the Crucial, a folding butterfly-style minimalist tool with everything the shiny-obsessed mountaineer desires and nothing more.
The Crucial has an obvious competitor in the Leatherman Skeletool CX: both weigh in at about 5oz and have identical feature sets: carabiner clip/bottle opener, removable belt clip, 2.5" drop point half-serrated blade with liner lock, needle nose pliers with wire cutter and toothed ratchet cutout, and Phillips and flat head screwdrivers.
The Crucial is shorter but thicker, making it slightly bulkier overall, but that extra bulk provides a little extra comfort in the palm. The Crucial has a thumb stud on the blade that operates easier than the Skeletool's thumb hole for one-handed opening. The Crucial's blade has a blunter nose, more effective for scraping or prying. The Leatherman has interchangeable screwdriver bits and a beefier pliers. The Crucial has a true v-cut wire cutter, where the Skeletool has a shearing design.
Which one is better? They're both great tools, so try them both out if you can to see if one just feels better for your hand. If you'll use the knife often than the Gerber has - pardon the pun - the edge. If the screwdriver is your thing and you want to be able to swap out bits, go for the Leatherman. Either one is a brilliant design for just-in-case tools for backcountry use. The deciding factor may end up being the price: here the Crucial has the clear lead at almost half the cost of the Skeletool CX version.
As usual great and interesting post. Gerber tools are brilliant.
I pretty much agree on everything you said above.
I have used their Folding Shovel and it seemed strong and really stable.
Posted by: Folding Shovel | April 23, 2010 at 06:37 AM